Originally Posted by
CrazyEight
The problem is you have to already be qualified on the VB fleet type to even bid it. How is it fair to open a base that the vast majority of pilots cant even bid into because the wheel of type rating stopped on the wrong lug? I wont even waste the energy explaining how management would use this to whipsaw pilots, modify bidding behavior, etc. Do you really want to give this much nebulous power to a management team that closed bases over FMLA use vs economics? While other airlines were opening bases? You have a long ride here, critical thinking hat on.
I’m using all my critical thinking- when will we get a new base at Delta Air Lines? Boston is barely a new base at <200 pilots/ 17,400. It took over 30 years. Absent some kind of pilot/management compromise, one where both sides work to a solution, we may never see a new base. Some have opined network would prefer less bases than we already have, as in their accounting it’s cheaper to DH reserves than open a new base.
If we had pursued VB, it’s likely we’d have at least seasonal, maybe permanent
AUS320
ATL220
BOS320
MCO757
SLC330
SLC350
BNA737
LAS320/737
PHX320
DFW320
RDU737
Think about the hotels your schedule clusters around. Think about where the FAs have bases. Sure, the fleet type could change from time to time, but virtual base would equal less commuting some, maybe half, maybe all the time for many pilots. All of the above could have been accomplished YEARS ago.
So far as whipsawing- it was voluntary. If management made VB a lousy bid, pilots would bid avoid and the whole thing would self-correct. There were no Mandatory Displacements in VB. No new hire could be assigned a VB.